Just in time for Christmas, Larian Studios brings CEO Swen Vincke together with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin for an unexpected The Lord of the Rings reunion playing Baldur’s Gate 3.
2023 has been a monumental triumph for Larian Studios and its officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons CRPG Baldur’s Gate 3. With the story-rich characterizations and immense gameplay options, BG3 swept the major video game awards, including multiple Game of the Year titles. But it seems Larian Studios still has a surprise or two for the fans of both D&D and The Lord of the Rings.
Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios, hosted a Baldur’s Gate 3 game party with two very special players: Elijah Wood and Sean Astin (aka Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films).
Fresh off The Game Awards Swen met with some familiar faces to play some Baldur's Gate 3 👀
Thank you @elijahwood and @seanastin for joining us in a totally normal game session, where absolutely no evil powers were awakened and no squirrels were harmed. pic.twitter.com/zy0sHHbzlk
— Baldur's Gate 3 (@baldursgate3) December 24, 2023
The Larian Studios CEO (and man who wears medieval plate armor to work) joked about bumping into Elijah Wood and Sean Astin right after The Game Awards 2023. Vincke guided the two Hollywood stars through the character creation process.
Wood was impressed with what he refers to as the “most detailed character creation I have ever seen”. This is not far from the truth, as there is a multitude of combinations to choose from such as the many D&D races and character classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. Astin and Wood chose to play a Tiefling and Halfling, respectively. But contrary to their LoTR heroic Hobbit roles, the pair chose the evil alignments.
Although the full playthrough was not shown, the video showed highlights to the decisions made by Astin and Wood through their brief Baldur’s Gate 3 adventure. Vincke looked very amused as they made unusual choices, like hacking off a wizard’s arm and kicking a squirrel to death.
Ultimately, Astin’s Tiefling had to kick Wood’s Halfling into the lava to destroy the evil book the latter had been magically bound to.
While this unexpected party play-along set up by Larian Studios for the famous The Lord of the Rings actors is done for fun, it is also a great marketing strategy. Seeing the actors who played Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee play their Baldur’s Gate 3 characters against type is both funny and showcases the myriad of possibilities in the video game. Baldur’s Gate 3 boasts literally thousands of outcomes, depending on the actions players take during their adventures.
Interestingly, Elijah Wood also helped promote the crossover of Magic: The Gathering with Tolkien’s epic fantasy world earlier this year. Could other LoTR actors be invited for an unexpected party playing Baldur’s Gate 3? Who would you like to see Larian Studios extend an invitation to play BG3 in the future?
